02/03/10 Fiskerton hit by flooding again

Heavy rain at the weekend gave residents of one Lincolnshire village an unwelcome reminder as to why action on flooding needs to be taken.

As reported in the Echo, a Â£100,000 scheme to alleviate the problem which has dogged Fiskerton for many years is to be discussed at a public meeting on Thursday.

The remedy is to intercept water from the north of the village and then divert it through existing pipes under the village -rather than through it – to drains to the south and then out to the North Delph drain.

It would see drainage ditches reinstated which were lost during the building of the Chapel Rise housing estate â€“ completed in 2005 â€“ and road drains cleared.

West Lindsey District Council, the Third Witham Internal Drainage Board, Morris Homes and the parish council have been working on the project to reduce the amount of ground water getting into the sewage and drainage systems to reduce the risk of flooding all over the village.

Steve and Rachel Rousseau were up early trying to combat knee-deep water at Wishing Well Stores – their family business in Ferry Road, Fiskerton – in June 2007.

Then in January 2008 they were battling the elements again as water came up level with the front door of the shop.

And on Friday afternoon Mr Rousseau, 39, again found himself tying to unblock a drain in Ferry Road to prevent his property being flooded, a prospect he faces every time it rains heavily.

“The problem is not the rainfall itself – it’s that three out of four of the drains around us don’t work,” he said.

“We are fighting against murky water off the fields every time it rains heavily.”

The new drainage system has been designed to resist a six-hour storm with an additional 30 per cent capacity built in to allow for climate change.